Assignments
and Papers
Preface:
In order to get the best possible grade, it is suggested that you do NOT simply restate
the obvious in your assignments. You will be familiar with many or most of the
subjects that we will talk about. If you use tired ideas, and worn out clichés
when submitting your assignments, they will get graded accordingly. Long
answers are not always needed, YET to simply give the most basic of answers
shows your lack of interest and will be graded accordingly.
It is
possible to take a common subject and bring new life to it, by research,
interviews with others in the field etc. -- To do so, will sharpen you
intellectually AND better your grade in this class.
A:
An
A paper is superior in both
content and style (see below criteria for B paper.) The A paper makes a
perceptive and thoughtful response to the assignment, and it contains only a
few minor mechanical errors and no significant lapses in diction or
organization.
B:
A
B
paper
is
superior
in content or style. Papers with superior content contain a clear sense
of purpose: original main ideas: unusually compelling evidence: descriptive
details: personal experiences: and/or extensive explanation of examples,
viewpoints, complex concepts, claims and most written statements. Papers with
superior content demonstrate clear evidence of thought, planning and audience
awareness on the writer's part. Superior style contains no major distracting
errors in grammar, sentence structure, paragraph structure, word usage, and/or
punctuation. Also, effective organization and consistent use of an
organizational strategy are touchstones of superior style.
C: A
C
paper
is a competent effort that fulfills the minimum paper assignment requirements:
it may be generally clear, concise, and coherent, but it is occasionally marred
by lack of development, mistakes in mechanics, illogical sentence structure,
and/or paragraphing errors. The C paper carries out the assignment in a routine
way, such as a paper written without attention to the prewriting, planning and
revising stages of the writing process. The errors in a C paper are not
distracting, the reader can follow and understand without difficulty, but the
writing is neither vigorous nor
well-developed, with few fresh perspectives offered by
the writer and/or little development of the paper's purpose.
D:
A
D
paper is an unintelligible and underdeveloped response to the essay
assignment: it may relate to the assignment but does not state or support a
commitment to the topic both in terms of focus and organization. The D paper
contains frequent grammatical errors--many patterns of error or a variety of
grammar errors-which together make the paper difficult to decipher, OR it is
characterized by irrelevant, inaccurate, inconsistent, and/or trivial content.
Note that a paper which does not fulfill the minimum paper assignment
requirements also fits in this category, such as minimal page requirements or
minimum paper goals stated on the assignment sheet for that particular paper,
F:
An
F
paper
is unintelligible both in terms of organization and mechanics. It contains
incoherent sentences and paragraphs: illogical, unrecognizable, or slang word
choices: and it is factually inaccurate, logically inconsistent, and or
irrelevant to the assigned topic. The F paper is so poorly organized and so
carelessly written that a reader finds it difficult if not impossible to
decipher. Note that a plagiarized paper can fit this category, since the
plagiarized paper demonstrates no original thought from the writer.
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